Plastic Man
The longest arm of the law!
Reknowned for his unique sense of humor along with the shape-shifting powers to match it, Plastic Man is one of the oldest superheroes, both in the real world and in the DC Universe.
Plastic Man was born Patrick O'Brian in New York City in 1926. He was put up for adoption and traveled from orphanage to orphanage, from foster home to foster home. All of this made young Patrick turn towards a life of a crime, quickly working his way around in the underworld. He received the nickname of Eel because of his abilities as a pickpocket and a thief. Sometime in 1941, while he and his gang were robbing the Crawford Chemical Works, Eel was shot in the shoulder by a security guard while he and his crew were making their escape. He fell against a vat of experimental acid, causing it to spill over and douse him in the substance. His cronies took off in the escape car without him, and so, with a bleeding wound that stung due to the acid seeping in, Eel ran as fast as he could, eventually passing out in a wooded area.
When he awoke, Eel found himself in a comfortable bed in a monastary. A monk revealed to him that he turned away cops looking for him because he "sensed the potential for good" in him. Eel took the next few days to reflect back on his life and figure out exactly why he turned to crime. As he did so, he discovered that his body had become as pliable as plastic. Eel quickly came to the conclusion that it was the acid that got into his wound. It somehow altered his molecular structure. Using his new desire to fight crime as well as his powers, Eel planned to take down his former gang. He disguised himself, however, by fashioning himself a costume out of an acrobat suit from a circus, altering it to stretch with him, as well as a pair of white goggles. The disguise worked, and not only did he defeat the gang and turn in the stolen money to the police, he earned a front page headline as "The Plastic Man."
Many people have the misconception that because of his ridiculous costume and zany personality, Plastic Man is a homosexual and an idiot. Not true. Not only does Plastic Man have a son (revealed in the pages of JLA), but he used to be a top investigator for the FBI and later their sister agency, the NBI. On top of this, he has become an excellent actor to go along with his disguises. He has also assisted Batman on many cases when Eel's connections and pliable powers are needed.
Origin: Police Comics #1, Aug. 1941
In November 1981, Plastic Man along with his sidekick Woozy Winks teamed-up with Superman to take on Toyman. (DCCP No.39, Nov. 1981 "The Thing That Goes Woof in the Night!")
